Re: Apple //+ floppy encoding method

[nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates)]

In article <5ane7h$pm2@ren.cei.net>, Kent Sutton <kents@fs.cei.net> wrote:
>I have read (and been told) that an Apple //+ (and other Apple //
>computers) cannot read/write an IBM compatible disk, and conversely,
>an IBM cannot read/write an Apple disk.  Is this due to the nature
>of the hardware of the drive, or is it the drive controller?

   [Tip: press return every 70 or so characters, not just at the end
of a sentence. Makes it much easier to quote]

   Mostly the controller, though if you start throwing in PC High
Density (HD) disks and drives, the drive and disk media are different
as well.  Apple II disks are written with GCR (Group Code Recording);
PCs with MFM (Modified Frequency Modulation).

   To overcome the gap, you need (rare) addon hardware to a basic A2
or PC, namely a 5.25" controller that can understand both formats. End
of story.

Nathan Mates
--
<*> Nathan Mates http://www.visi.com/~nathan/      <*>
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